Make Your Next Trip Extraordinary
3 Life Lessons from Traveling Overseas with Dad
The author and his dad in Queenstown, New Zealand. Family trips give dads the opportunity to teach their children important life lessons. After two decades of travels with my dad in more than 60 countries, here are the top three lessons he’s taught me. They’ve proven invaluable not just on the road but in life.
1. Make friends everywhere you go.
Whether we were bringing Nerf footballs to play with kids in Sri Lanka or jumping rope and trading stories with students in Zambia, Dad has made sure I’ve understood that the real heart of travel is people. His rule? Don’t just observe—participate. Play the sport. Try the food. Join the dance. Ask the questions. When you engage with people, even briefly, the barriers disappear, and suddenly, you’re no longer a tourist—you’re a friend. Here are 13 ways to make friends with local people anywhere you go.
Dad showed me how to make friends in Kiawa, Zambia, by helping at the water pump. Photo: Timothy Baker
2. Embrace the unexpected.
Dad has shown us that not everything will go to plan but that’s often when the most interesting parts of a trip happen. For instance, one time we were in Uzbekistan, and we had to ditch our cool evening plans to go to a 63-year-old woman’s “prophet age party” in a very hot and crowded house where my brother and I were the only kids. But we joined in the dancing and made friends, and Dad’s photos remind us of what a rare opportunity that turned out to be.
My brother and I found ourselves unexpectedly at this party in Khiva, Uzbekistan. Photo: Timothy Baker
3. Photograph the world in a way that tells a story.
Like most dads, mine has handed down work-related tips. He’s a photojournalist, so the third big lesson he’s taught me is to photograph the world in a way that tells a story. From knowing what scenes and details to shoot to how to ask strangers if you can take their photo, he’s shown me how to capture culture and beauty with a camera.
Dad makes friends in Oman using his 1960 Rolleiflex. Photo: Doug Baker
I hope all you dads appreciate what your kids have gained from your travels together. Cheers to you!
Father and sons in Oman. Photo by Mom.
If you could use a family trip that dad will love, you’ll find a sampling of ideas here and in the reviews below from fathers. We’re also happy to recommend a personalized trip solution for your family; just use the black button below.
MOROCCO: “A special trip for us—a graduation gift for my daughter as she completed a master of architecture degree…”
The Jardin Majorelle in Marrakech, Morocco. Photo: Shutterstock
“Our trip to Morocco was incredible! Michael planned a special trip for us—a graduation gift for my daughter as she completed a master of architecture degree. My daughter, son, and I went on the trip together and all agree that the itinerary for our seven days in Marrakech, Essaouira, and the Ourika Valley was fabulous.
We flew to Casablanca from NYC and were greeted at the airport by our guide, Rachid, and our driver, Mehdi. They took amazing care of us the whole trip. We felt safe the entire time, learned a great deal, and were impressed that not a single thing went wrong the whole trip. Our only job was to take in the sites, learn about the history of this amazing country, appreciate the culture, and enjoy the delicious food.
Marrakech was a bucket-list trip for my daughter, and she had many, many buildings and design-focused experiences on her list. In three days we saw everything she wanted to see, and Michael even matched us with a fantastic guide who worked in interior design and thus had interests that aligned with those of my daughter. We stayed in an awesome riad in the medina, enjoyed learning from Rachid as we toured sites such as the Koutoubia Minaret, the Saadian Tombs, Medersa Ben Youssef, Yves Saint Laurent Museum, and Jardin Majorelle, and ate at fantastic restaurants. We took a half-day to do an excursion in the Agafay Desert, as we couldn’t miss the quintessential experience riding camels!
We were then driven to Essaouira (note that the van our driver drove us around in was extremely comfortable and clean, and also had WiFi) where we enjoyed Rachid teaching us about the history of this little city on the Atlantic coast. Finally, we were transported out to the Ourika Valley in the High Atlas Mountains to a beautiful hotel. We enjoyed a slower pace for our final two days, doing short day-hikes, going to the spa, laying by the pool, and taking in the beautiful gardens and views.” —Jeffrey Zapalac
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BELIZE: “We visited numerous little islands, inhabited and uninhabited, each with a story to tell…”
Belize’s coastline is dotted with small, dreamy islands. Photo: Shutterstock
“Nine days in Belize was magnificent. We sought a trip with some scheduled activities but mostly just relaxation. Having read reviews of sailing vacations in Belize on Wendy’s site, we were intrigued, having never done anything like that before. Wendy put us in touch with Patricia and Rachael, and they quickly organized a fantastic week for us.
We spent two nights at the gorgeous Rainforest Lodge at Sleeping Giant, near the middle of the country, as a base to explore the ATM caves. We spent one day in the caves with our excellent guide Darryl, and the next day, on the way to our sailboat, we spent a few hours inner-tubing with Darryl through two other caves.
The ATM caves were all they are cracked up to be. Geologically, they are huge and stunning. It was a great adventure swimming and hiking through the underground network, but the ATM caves have the added bonus of being anthropologically important. They were a sacred Mayan site and have relics left behind from ceremonies hundreds of years ago.
The tubing trip was also a blast. We had the first cave, maybe 30 minutes of calm drifting, all to ourselves. We spotted cave spiders and a few species of bats. After tubing, we headed to the pier to meet our crew and boat. Patricia had a deal where if you booked a boat for four people, two others could come along free, so we had two friends whom we hadn’t seen in ages join us. Big surprise for our kids.
The boat was the Nowhere, a 50–foot catamaran. It was clean and comfortable, with a number of places on deck to spread out and relax. Captain Shane and first mate Hannah looked out for our every desire and need. Hannah’s cooking and cocktails were out of this world, and we even got to eat a number of fresh fish that Shane hauled in.
The star of the show is that corner of the Caribbean. I have never seen such clear ocean water in my life. We could see the bottom at 30-feet deep and more. The visibility was spectacular. Shane knew where great reefs were for snorkeling, but also which part of every reef is best. With his guidance, we visited numerous little islands, inhabited and uninhabited, each with a story to tell. We saw massive rays, innumerable reef fish, and dolphins.” —John Strachan
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THE MALDIVES: “Our kids concluded by saying, ‘Mom, Dad, this trip was EPIC! Thank you!’ As parents, it doesn’t get any better…”
Traveler Andy Shapiro with his daughter, Jessie, in the Dubai desert.
“Proper planning and pacing of a trip is very important to us. Nick advised us to start in the Dubai desert at Al Maha (only a 90-minute drive from the Dubai airport); then, after recovering, relaxing and acclimating, enjoy four nights in the Maldives; and finish with five nights in the city of Dubai, with one full day touring Dubai and another Abu Dhabi. Reflecting back, it was an excellent strategy that worked extremely well for all of us.
Set inside a 140-square-mile nature and animal reserve, the luxury all-inclusive Al Maha resort was the absolute perfect place to start our adventure, recover from our long journey, acclimate to the time zone difference, and marvel at the gazelles and oryxes of the wondrous Arabian desert. We loved our villa with private pool, and the falconry, sunset camel rides and guided nature walks. Our kids did dune buggying and sandboarding.
With my daughter’s input, we wrote a detailed email to Nick outlining what would be our ideal Maldives destination. Nick replied with one word, ‘Kudadoo,’ then followed up with a link to watch The Reluctant Traveler with host Eugene Levy, Season 1, Episode 5: ‘Maldives,’ featuring Kudadoo. My family and I have stayed at many of the most luxurious resorts all over the world, and we all agreed that Kudadoo is the BEST! EVERYTHING about Kudadoo is mind-boggling! Don’t be discouraged by Eugene Levy saying the cost is $7,000 per night. Rates vary depending upon the time of year, and Nick has an excellent relationship with Kudadoo and got what we felt was a great rate.
In the city of Dubai, Nick suggested we stay at Atlantis The Royal, in a spectacular location on the ring of the Palm Islands. Some of our many Dubai city highlights included the VIP experience on the 154th floor of the Burj Khalifa (the world’s tallest building), a helicopter ride over Dubai, and a three-hour private 55-foot yacht tour with a delicious lunch in Dubai Harbor and around the Palm Islands.
On our last evening together, discussing all the things we loved about this trip from start to finish, our kids concluded by saying, ‘Mom, Dad, this trip was EPIC! Thank you!’ As parents, it doesn’t get any better.” —Andy Shapiro
To get your own WOW trip, start with our trip questionnaire, reached via the black button below.
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